Zack Greinke leaves for pending birth of child, out for Friday start

So, about those Dodgers weekend starting rotation plans...

Zack Greinke won't start for the Dodgers on Friday, as he is with his wife Emily for the birth of their first child. Alanna Rizzo was the first to report, followed by several Dodgers beat writers.

RHP Zack Greinke is not with team. He is with his wife, @Wilsysmommy, as they are expecting their 1st baby. It is unlikely he pitches tmrw.

— Alanna Rizzo (@alannarizzo) July 23, 2015

Zack Greinke en route home to be with expectant wife. Dodgers need starters for next three games. Zach Lee likely for Saturday.

— Ken Gurnick (@kengurnick) July 23, 2015

Zack Greinke not in NY with #Dodgers. Joining his wife for birth of first child. So TBA is starting next 3 games for LAD

— Bill Plunkett (@billplunkettocr) July 23, 2015

So after Clayton Kershaw on Thursday, there is technically three TBA slots for the final three games against the Mets.

Zach Lee remains the most likely for Saturday, and Brett Anderson is currently throwing on the field at Citi Field, hoping to progress toward a Sunday start, after suffering some inflammation near his Achilles tendon on Tuesday in Atlanta.

It is not known how long Greinke will be out, but at the very least Friday is a bit of a scramble for the team. Ian Thomas is with the Dodgers and made five starts for Triple-A Oklahoma City, and he last pitched last Friday, but that would likely be a glorified bullpen game. Thomas pitched 2⅓ innings last Friday, his longest outing since July 2 while riding the yo-yo in between OKC and Los Angeles.

Eric Stults is scheduled to start for Oklahoma City on Friday, with Eric Surkmap pitching Thursday night. Both are off the 40-man roster.

The Dodgers are allowed to use paternity leave to replace Greinke on the active roster for between one and three games.

Get ready for a lot of bullpen innings this weekend in New York.